Making Myself Useful

Dearest Rachel –

Freud had a word for it: “sublimation.” While it’s now mostly used in its physical, chemical sense of a solid transmuting to gas, skipping over any possible liquid state (like carbon dioxide does, for example), he used it to refer to taking one’s baser instincts and diverting them to where they could do some actual good. This being Freud, of course, this usually referring to channeling one’s sexual energy (because of course it would; what else was there in life for that man, other than his cigars?), but it seems like it wouldn’t need to be so restricted.

In this case, it would be a matter of taking certain selfish impulses (like that of wanting to travel), along with skills, both innate and learned, that I’ve let lie fallow for too long, and applying them in a different context so that perhaps someone else can learn them and make something of themselves, both personally and professionally. In any event, that’s the intention; to make myself useful so as to possibly make someone else useful in turn.

At least, I think that’s what the intent was when Scott broached the idea to me last week about the possibility of joining the team headed to Honduras for the semi-annual mission to help with the organization our church supports located in Siguatepeque. It’s certainly not the sort of thing that would occur to me to participate in on my own. Mostly because it’s been touted in the past as being something of a medical mission, and therefore, while I might be able to participate in the more manual labor (especially after having gotten myself into the shape I’m now in), I’m hardly the sort of assistance they really need.

However, it so happens that, while they focus on the clinic and the health needs of the community they serve down there when recruiting volunteers, it would appear that they also head up a school there as well, which serves to offer a “hand up” rather than a “handout” in a society where most kids drop out of the educational system after sixth or seventh grade in order to make the equivalent of a couple of bucks a day in the coffee fields to support their families. It would seem that a mind is just as terrible a thing to waste down there as up here; perhaps even more so, as their educational system is nowhere near as robust.

So it was suggested that I might be able to offer instruction in my professional field, but simplified for a young layman wanting (and, to a certain extent, needing) to know how to manage one’s finances – especially if they can learn a trade that earns sufficiently more that the coffee fields pay, thereby affording them a chance at a more stable financial life. Theoretically, I could start with basic budgeting, along with record-keeping activities in various formats – including the accounting software I use for the church and which the organization uses as well, as well as basic spreadsheet functions, using an open source program as opposed to the subscription-plan commercial stuff I generally use – along with a basic theory and philosophy of accounting. It might be interesting to point out to these kids (and possibly some adults who might attend) that while their net worth might be calculated by taking what they have and subtracting what they owe (as bare-bones a description of a balance sheet as I can explain), that by no means determines their value. Not everything that makes someone important can be quantified, even if my task is to tally up what can be, and show them how to do the same. And once they have this knowledge under their belt, they can add to that value that much more.

It sometimes seems like February is the month for such bees to be put in my bonnet; it wasn’t that many years ago that I resolved to run a marathon after being prompted by someone at church (or rather, had my hand forced by passing the suggestion on to someone else, assuming she’d never have the time to fit it into her schedule, only for her to take to it like a fish to water, whereas I hadn’t expected to have to deal with it ) only to confirm that I had no talent or inclination toward it. This situation, on the other hand, seems like something I can do. Sure, I have very limited Spanish, but with the assistance of the provided interpreters (and some prep work on Google Translate), I should actually be able to accomplish something – and, more to the point, help others to do so as well.

As for the conditions, well… I can’t say I’m thrilled about the idea of not being able to drink the local water – and there are discussions regarding the sanitation facilities and customs to take into consideration – but I’ve dealt with similar privations before. Even our would-be leader, who you and I traveled to Israel with a time or two ago, insists that it’s no more strenuous than that trip – less so, compared to the go-go-go of visiting one site and the next, but more so in terms of actual physical activity, so it evens out, in theory. So if I could do the one – and I certainly could, and will again, I should mention – I can do this, as well.

Besides, I’ll be making myself useful, rather than just the usual sightseeing. So there’s that.

In either case, honey, you might want to keep an eye on me as I prepare for this, and wish me luck; Lord knows I’ll need it.